2 Stocks Stopping the Presses

By pairing the latest news with the collective wisdom of our 180,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS investing community, we might be able to discover whether your stock's latest exploits are a short-term hiccup -- or the start of a much bigger trend.

These two stocks both made big moves over the past five trading days, one up, one down:

72 inches downBoy, things can change in a hurry when you're Patriot Coal, and not for the better. One week it was reporting fairly disastrous first-quarter results and saying its second-quarter outlook wasn't looking so hot either, with 4.9 million tons in coal sales at $138 per ton. The next week, it was saying one of its customers might actually default and sales will likely be 3.9 million tons, though at $142 per ton.

The coal industry in general is reeling. Because natural gas is at its cheapest level in decades -- prices are at historically low levels even though they've bounced off record lows -- utilities are switching from coal to gas. Coal prices have fallen as well, particularly for thermal coal, but gas is cheaper still. Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) has cut thermal coal production, and despite Peabody Energy's (NYSE: BTU) assurances to the contrary, the "supercycle" for coal doesn't seem to be intact. With the Obama administration encouraging through clean-air regulations the demise of coal-fired power plants, there's not much incentive for utilities to even consider building one.

Internationally, the situation isn't much better, and it could get worse before it does get better. China, the world's biggest consumer of coal, is suffering a spate of buyers deferring or defaulting on coal deliveries. China's economy is slowing quicker than many analysts anticipated, and six coal shipments were recently defaulted on as the buyers chose not to accept delivery. The country's voracious appetite for coal was one of the few hopeful spots for propping up the coal industry.

While 95% of the nearly 500 CAPS members rating Patriot think it will outperform the market, but with weaker demand and Standard & Poor's lowering its credit rating, investors may want to take a second look at its prospects. Tell us in the comments section below or on the Patriot Coal CAPS page if you think the miner will cave in, then add the stock to your watchlist to see if the trend can turn.

Groupthink or better times coming?Daily deals specialist Groupon had a big group of investors pushing its shares higher last week after reporting what appeared to be better than expected earnings results. Its North American business turned in a strong performance with business jumping 33% pushing it to a first-ever quarterly profit, albeit just a penny.

Yet after peaking at almost $15 a share, the stock has slid back 22%, no doubt reflecting the fear that not only can it not duplicate that effort again, but also that it's guidance hides a coming slowdown. With accounting issues still troubling the dealmaker, I've maintained my underperform rating on Groupon.

Despite the buzz from Facebook's IPO, don't expect any sort of halo effect. The offering was a disaster marked by snafus from the Nasdaq exchange and the stock itself has already fallen through the IPO price and is heading lower -- very similar to what Groupon experienced. These social media offerings seem to have the sustaining quality of cotton candy.

Pandora, Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) , and Yelp all went public on the buzz that social networking would be a trend to capitalize on in a bid to out-Facebook Facebook, yet all have plummeted in the aftermath. Only LinkedIn, the grown-ups' version of social networking, has managed to rise higher, though even it has fallen steeply in the past week.

Only 10% of the nearly 800 CAPS members rating Groupon think it will outperform the market averages, and even fewer All-Stars think it will beat the Street. Add the daily deals site to the Fool's free portfolio tracker to see whether it flames out once again or it's finally getting its act together and actually represents a good deal at these prices.

Read all about it!Both of these stocks made a lot of noise this week, but if they carry too much risk for you, consider this: The Motley Fool has found a stock with so much promise that we've dubbed it: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." This up and coming multibagger is highlighted in a free report that discusses how it's revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company by clicking here to download it now.

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This had to be one of the greatest change of life weekends in human history, endured by one Mark Zuckerberg. On Friday, he earned $9.2 billion with the flawed Facebook (FB) flotation. On Saturday, he married a Chinese doctor and longtime girlfriend, Pricilla Chan. Then on Monday, oops honey, I lost $1.2 billion. Talk about a rocky start! Never mind that the precise timing was intended to undercut any future divorce claims, hence no prenuptial. Her cost basis is $38 a share, his is zero.

I knew that when the stock closed pennies above the $38 syndicate bid on Friday that there would be a Monday MORNING massacre. I warned away people from this issue at every opportunity. When Wall Street starts drinking its own Kool-Aid you, can count on a mass murder to follow.

Brokers we urging clients to apply for 100 times the shares they really wanted in the expectation that that would get only 1% of their request. That paved the way for the ugliest broker confirm of the year, that you received the entire allocation that of Facebook shares that you applied for, and they were now down 13%.

By Monday, some hapless investors still had not received notice of the allocation. At least they are faring better than the suckers lured into the aftermarket to buy stock at $43, now down 30%. Think of the entire flotation as a full employment act for the legal profession.

There was enough mud on lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley’s face to fill Yankee Stadium. It is sad to see how low the standards and competence have fallen at this once great firm. I am now seriously thinking of taking this sullied name off of my resume, even though it is an ancient entry. Don’t worry, they’ll get their just punishment. The losses on their Facebook Stabilization fund is thought to be as high as $100 million, wiping out any underwriting fees earned. Expect investors to defriend (MS) post haste. What was expected to be the biggest payday of the year for Wall Street turned out to become the largest bill due.

I made a killing on Facebook, not through any direct participation, but from the market timing it clarified. When the (FB) was down $5, the Dow should have been off 300. They fact that it wasn’t flashed a huge “BUY” signal to me, enough to cause me to rush to cover all of my profitable shorts and flip my model trading portfolio from a big “RISK OFF” stance to a moderate “RISK ON”. So far, it’s working, with Apple (AAPL) up $25 since my call, and (IWM) rocketing two full points.

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Rich has been a Fool since 1998 and writing for the site since 2004. After 20 years of patrolling the mean streets of suburbia, he hung up his badge and gun to take up a pen full time.

Having made the streets safe for Truth, Justice and Krispy Kreme donuts, he now patrols the markets looking for companies he can lock up as long-term holdings in a portfolio. So follow me on Facebook and Twitter for the most important industry news in retail and consumer products and other great stories.